Monday, August 04, 2008

Broadway Monday

HairHair tells the story of the "tribe", a group of politically active, "Hippies of the Age of Aquarius" fighting against conscription to the Vietnam War and living a bohemian life together in New York City. They struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution with their pacifist rebellion against the war and the conservative impulses of their parents and society. I've never seen the stage production of Hair, but the music was very familar since much of that soundtrack became hits on the radio. It wasn't until I saw the movie adaptation of this musical that it really clicked with me and I knew that there was a little bit of hippy inside! I saw it in the basement of the chapel at Cottey College. It was the movie of the week and most likely the last time I was able to lay on a cement floor for two hours without doing major damage to my joints!

After the film was over, all I could do was obsess about the music and where in the world would I find this soundtrack in the middle of Nevada, Missouri?! Luckily, there was one girl out of the 350 of us that was enlightened and she let everyone make copies. The soundtrack and movie still remain one of my favorites, and this time during war, still makes an impact and sends an important message.

The show opened on Broadway in April 1968 at the Biltmore Theatre, and ran for 1,750 performances, followed by a successful London production, which ran for 1,997 performances.

There will be a 3-day production of the original musical at the outdoor Delacorte Theatre in Central Park September 22-24, starring current Broadway stars as well as original cast members.

1 comment:

Revday said...

Saw it in Detroit sometime around '72. Check out Oh! Calcutta! too. You must get the hippie stuff from me! I'm just saying.